Blount County, Tennessee

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Blount County, Tennessee
Blount-county-tennessee-courthouse1.jpg
Blount County Courthouse in Maryville
Map of Tennessee highlighting Blount County
Location in the state of Tennessee
Map of the U.S. highlighting Tennessee
Tennessee's location in the U.S.
Founded 1795
Named for William Blount[1]
Seat Maryville
Largest city Maryville
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water
567 sq mi (1,469 km²)
559 sq mi (1,448 km²)
8 sq mi (21 km²), 1.43%
Population
 - (2010)
 - Density
123,010
189/sq mi (73/km²)
Time zone Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website www.blounttn.org

Blount County is a U.S. county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Its population was 123,010 at the United States Census, 2010. The county seat is at Maryville[2], which is also the county's largest city.

It is included in the Knoxville, Tennessee, Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Contents

History[edit]

What is today Blount County was for many thousands of years Indian territory, passed down to the Cherokee tribe that claimed the land upon the arrival of white settlers in the late 18th century. Shortly thereafter, on July 11, 1795, Blount County became the tenth county established in Tennessee, when the Territorial Legislature voted to split adjacent Knox and Jefferson counties. The new county was named for the governor of the Southwest Territory, William Blount, and its county seat, Maryville, was named for his wife Mary Grainger Blount. This establishment, however, did little to settle the differences between white immigrants and Cherokee natives, which was, for the most part, not accomplished until an 1819 treaty.[3]

Throughout its history the boundaries of Blount County have been altered numerous times, most notably in 1870 when a large swath of western Blount was split into Loudon and portions of other counties. Also, the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1936, while not affecting the legal boundaries of Blount County, has significantly impacted the use of southeastern Blount County.[4]

Economy[edit]

Most of the early European-American settlers were of little means; they were subsistence farmers throughout the early years of the county's establishment. The first industry to make its mark on Blount County, as in other neighboring counties, was that of lumber.

It was the massive development of this industry in the mountains of east Blount that, in part, led to the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It includes the southeastern portion of the county. Today manufacturing has replaced lumber in importance, with over 100 manufacturing plants located in the county.[3]

Denso Manufacturing Tennessee Inc., a division of Denso Global, is the county's largest employer, with about 3,000 employees.[5][6]

Government[edit]

The following list consists of the current elected members of the Blount County government:[7]

  • Commissioners: Tonya Burchfield, Tab Burkhalter, Rick Carver, Mike Caylor, Gary Farmer, Jim Folts, Ronald French, Roy Gamble, Tom Greene, Brad Harrison, Mark Hasty, Scott Helton, Gerald Kirby, Holden Lail, Peggy Lambert, Mike Lewis, Kenneth Melton, Jerome Moon, Monika Murrell, Steve Samples, and Gordon Wright
Blount County government
County Executive Ed Mitchell
Assessor of Property Mike Morton
Clerk and Master Stephen Ogle
County Clerk Roy Crawford Jr
Clerk of Courts Thomas Hatcher
County Treasurer
District Attorney Mike Flynn
Registrar of Deeds Phyllis Crisp
Chief Highway Officer Bill Dunlap
Registrar of Probate
County Sheriff James Berrong
Trustee Scott Graves
State government
State Representative(s) 2 Representatives:Art Swann (R-Tennessee District 8), Bob Ramsey (R-Tennessee District 20)
State Senator(s) 1 Senators:Doug Overbey (R-Tennessee District 8)
Federal government
U.S. Representative(s) John Duncan (R-2nd District)
U.S. Senators Lamar Alexander (R)
Bob Corker (R)

The office of Constable was abolished in the 1890s.

Geography[edit]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 567 square miles (1,468.5 km2), of which 559 square miles (1,447.8 km2) is land and 8 square miles (20.7 km2) (1.43%) is water.

The foothills of the Appalachian Mountains determine much of Blount County's landscape, with a segment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park extending into southeastern Blount County. In addition to the dominant mountains, the Little Tennessee River flows through the county and forms several man-made lakes created by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Bull Cave, is located inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 750 feet southwest of Rich Mountain Gap. It is the deepest cave in Tennessee, with a total depth of 924 feet. It is also a significantly long cave, with 2.3 miles of surveyed passages. Bull Cave is closed to the public. Bull Cave is an exceptionally dangerous cave, due to many deep drops that require rope to negotiate and the cold, wet conditions that are encountered.[8]

Adjacent counties[edit]

Geographical features[edit]

National protected area[edit]

Demographics[edit]

Age pyramid Blount County[9]

As of the census[10] of 2000, there were 105,823 people, 42,667 households, and 30,634 families residing in the county. The population density was 190 people per square mile (73/km²). There were 47,059 housing units at an average density of 84 per square mile (33/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.73% White, 2.91% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 0.99% from two or more races. 1.06% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 42,667 households out of which 30.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.40% were married couples living together, 10.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.20% are classified as non-families by the United States Census Bureau. Of the 42,667 households, 1,384 are unmarried partner households: 1,147 heterosexual, 107 same-sex male, 130 same-sex female. 24.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the county, the population was spread out with 22.80% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 29.40% from 25 to 44, 25.40% from 45 to 64, and 14.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 93.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.80 males. However, these data are distorted by female longevity. As verified by 2000 U.S. Census, for every 100 females under 65 there were 98.7 males, for every 100 females under 55 there were 99.5 males, and for every 100 females under 20 there were 105 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,862, and the median income for a family was $45,038. Males had a median income of $31,877 versus $23,007 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,416. About 7.30% of families and 9.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.30% of those under age 18 and 9.10% of those age 65 or over.

Infrastructure[edit]

Parks[edit]

In addition to the federally operated Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which draws many visitors to the county each year, Blount County operates numerous smaller community parks and recreation centers, primarily in the cities of Alcoa and Maryville. Some of these facilities include:[11]

  • Amerine Park (Maryville)
  • Bassell Courts (Alcoa)
  • Bicentennial Park (Greenbelt)(Maryville)
  • Eagleton Park (Maryville)
  • Everett Athletic Complex (Maryville)
  • Everett Park/Everett Senior Center (Maryville)
  • Howe Street Park (Alcoa)
  • John Sevier Park/Pool (Maryville)
  • Louisville Point Park (Louisville)
  • Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center (Alcoa)
  • Oldfield Mini Park (Alcoa)
  • Pearson Springs Park (Maryville)
  • Pole Climbers Athletic Fields (Alcoa)
  • Richard Williams Park (Alcoa)
  • Rock Garden Park (Alcoa)
  • Sandy Springs Park (Maryville)
  • Springbrook Park/Pool (Alcoa)

Schools, Colleges and Universities[edit]

See Blount County Schools for a full list of public schools in the county system. The cities of Maryville and Alcoa operate separate, independent school systems. Private schools located in the county include: Maryville Christian School;[12][13] Montessori Middle School (opening in 2009[14]); New Horizon Montessori School and Clayton-Bradley STEM school (2013).

Blount County is home to two post-secondary educational institutions: Maryville College, in downtown Maryville, and a satellite campus of Knoxville-based Pellissippi State Technical Community College, referred to as Pellissippi State Technical Community College, Blount County Campus.

Transportation[edit]

Paratransit[edit]

Blount County is served by the East Tennessee Human Resource Agency's Public Transit system. ETHRA, as it is commonly referred to, operates over sixteen counties in eastern Tennessee, and is headquartered in the nearby city of Loudon. The service offers residents of any of the counties covered by ETHRA door-to-door pickup transportation across its service area by request only.[15]

Airports[edit]

TYS, McGhee Tyson Airport

Highways[edit]

Populated places[edit]

Map of Blount County, Tennessee showing cities, CDPs, and Census county divisions.

Cities[edit]

Unincorporated[edit]

Former communities[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Tara Mitchell Mielnik, "Blount County," Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. Retrieved: 31 March 2013.
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
  3. ^ a b About Blount County Blount County official website
  4. ^ Lansford, D., and D. Waterworth. "Blount County History," TNGenWeb Project
  5. ^ "DENSO Plant 203 is a key marker in 20-year history," The Maryville-Alcoa Daily Times, April 7, 2008
  6. ^ "Denso Tennessee names new president," The Knoxville News-Sentinel, April 1, 2008
  7. ^ Blount County, National Association of Counties website
  8. ^ Larry E. Matthews, "Caves of Knoxville and the Great Smoky Mountains", 2008, ISBN 978-1-879961-30-2, pages 171-173.
  9. ^ Based on 2000 census data
  10. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  11. ^ Maryville-Alcoa-Blount County Parks & Rec website
  12. ^ Maryville Christian School website
  13. ^ Millard, B. "Maryville Christian welcomes record class," The Maryville-Alcoa Daily Times, Sept. 17, 2006
  14. ^ Tucker, M. "New Montessori Middle construction progressing," The Maryville-Alcoa Daily Times, April 15, 2008
  15. ^ ETHRA homepage
  • Inez Burns (1995). History of Blount County, Tennessee. Windmill Publications.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Blount County, Tennessee

Coordinates: 35°41′N 83°56′W / 35.69°N 83.93°W / 35.69; -83.93

 Knox County
Loudon County Sevier County
  Blount County, Tennessee  
Monroe County and Graham County, North Carolina Swain County, North Carolina
Municipalities and communities of Blount County, Tennessee, United States
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‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
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